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The Water Of Leith - Signed CD

by Blue Rose Code

  • Limited Edition CD
    Compact Disc (CD)

    Liner Notes by Ian Rankin

    So you’re the kind of person who reads sleeve notes? Me, too, even though I agree with the contentious quote which has it that ‘writing about music is like dancing about architecture’. On the other hand, I can imagine a modern ballet which would seek to interpret the works of various architects, so here I am having a go.

    When Blue Rose Code (we can probably call him Ross) asked me to pen some notes for his new album, I was flattered. But I mainly agreed because then I’d get to hear these songs long before release day, and as a huge fan, that was the real draw. Nor was I disappointed. Ross’s voice remains warm and involving, as passionate an instrument as a John Martyn or a Van Morrison has ever possessed.

    Those aren’t just random names, by the way. When trying to describe Blue
    Rose Code to people I hope will become fans, I mention Martyn and Morrison as reference points. Then those same friends may ask me: but what kind of music is it? It’s folk, I’ll say. But it’s got bits of country in it, and blues, and soul - maybe the Caledonian Soul of Van Morrison. Oh, but there’s a gospel spirituality to the music, too. And you’ll hear the occasional jazz solo, and extended musical ruminations that can feel more ethereal than any of the above.

    And it all comes together in a sound that is filled with yearning, exploring love (of other people, yes, but of the Scottish landscape, too). It doesn’t need categorisation, does it? It’s just great music, beautiful music, music to make you think, and to lose yourself in. Sometimes it seems as if the listener is truly inside Ross’s head, sharing his hopes and dreams, his failings and personal insights, but without the lyrics ever becoming insular or self-absorbed, because the outside world is always present, shaping mood and outlook. Is Ross really in the tradition of the troubadour then, a romantically-inclined songwriter who prefers love songs to any other form, picking up all sorts of musical influences during his travels? Possibly. All I know is, this album makes my heart swell. Filled with emotion and yearning and exploration of Scotland inside and out, it’s a splendid edifice. Here’s to its architect!

    Ian Rankin

    All songs written by Ross Wilson apart from

    track 4 written by Ross Wilson and Lyle Watt
    track 10 written by Ross Wilson and John Lowrie

    Players -

    Over The Fields

    Ross Ainslie - Whistle
    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Graham Coe - Vox
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    Emily Kelly - Vox
    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Piano
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Beth Nielsen Chapman - Vox
    Iain Sloan - Pedal Steel
    Wild Lyle Watt - Electric Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Vox
    Eliza Wren Payne - Vox


    Bluebell

    Graham Coe - Vox
    Emily Kelly - Vox
    James Lindsay - Electric Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums & Wurlitzer
    Angus Lyon - Piano
    Iain Sloan - Pedal Steel
    Wild Lyle Watt - Mandolin
    Ross Wilson - Electric Guitar & Vox
    Konrad Wiszniewski - Saxophone
    Eliza Wren Payne - Vox

    Ebb & Flow

    Graham Coe - Vox
    Emily Kelly - Vox
    James Lindsay - Electric Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums, Percussion & Piano
    Colin Steele - Trumpet
    Wild Lyle Watt - Mandolin
    Ross Wilson - Acoustic Guitar & Vox
    Konrad Wiszniewski - Saxophone
    Eliza Wren Payne - Vox

    Passing Places

    Seonaid Aitken - Violin
    Angus Lyon - Accordion
    Kathleen MacInnes - Vox
    Wild Lyle Watt - Acoustic Guitar

    Sandaig

    Ross Ainslie - Whistle
    Seonaid Aitken - Violin
    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Piano
    Angus Lyon - Accordion
    Kathleen MacInnes - Vox
    Wild Lyle Watt - Electric Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Acoustic Guitar & Vox


    Nashville Blue

    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums & Piano
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Colin Steele - Trumpet
    Wild Lyle Watt - Electric Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Vox


    On The Hill Remains A Heart

    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Ross Ainslie - Whistle & Pipes
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    James Lindsay - Electric Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Angus Lyon - Piano & Wurlitzer
    Ross Wilson - Vox & Acoustic Guitar

    Love Is...

    Seonaid Aitken - Violin
    Graham Coe - Vox
    Julie Fowlis - Vox
    Emily Kelly - Vox
    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums
    Iain Sloan - Pedal Steel
    Wild Lyle Watt - Mandolin & Acoustic Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Acoustic Guitar & Vox

    Polaris

    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Graham Coe - Vox
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    Emily Kelly - Vox
    James Lindsay - Electric Bass
    John Lowrie - Piano & Drums
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Laura Danielle Sharp - Vox
    Iain Sloan - Pedal Steel
    Colin Steele - Trumpet
    Wild Lyle Watt - Electric Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Vox
    Konrad Wiszniewski - Saxophone
    Eliza Wren Payne - Vox

    The Water

    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Piano
    Colin Steele - Trumpet

    To The Shore

    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    James Lindsay - Double Bass
    John Lowrie - Drums & Wurlitzer
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Angus Lyon - Piano
    Iain Sloan - Pedal Steel
    Colin Steele - Trumpet
    Wild Lyle Watt - Electric Guitar
    Ross Wilson - Vox
    Konrad Wiszniewski - Saxophone

    Child

    Seonaid Aitken - First Violin
    Christoff Fourie - Cello
    Kobus Frick - Second Violin
    John Lowrie - Piano
    Liam Lynch - Viola
    Ross Wilson - Vox
    Konrad Wiszniewski - Saxophone


    Produced By Ross Wilson
    Co-produced By Angus Lyon
    Engineered By Angus Lyon
    Additional Engineering by Graham Coe, Cameron Malcolm, Richard Werner

    Mixed By Iain Hutchison
    Mastered By Calum Malcolm

    ... more

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credits

released December 6, 2017

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Blue Rose Code Liverpool, UK

Blue Rose Code is Edinburgh-born songwriter Ross Wilson. At the edge of contemporary alt-folk, Wilson's music evokes a meeting of Van Morrison and a young John Martyn, both shipwrecked with a bunch of Motown records.

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